FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is a book coach?

A book coach is just like any other coach you may encounter— a person with experience, knowledge, and skill who can guide you to improve and meet your goals. Book coaches help writers do this by using their experience to give feedback, materials, and resources tailored to a writer's needs. They can also help writers define their goals, plan their approach, and stay on track.

So you're an editor/copyeditor/ghostwriter?

While it’s true that editors can help you develop your writing, just like a book coach can, they are not the same. Editors focus on ways to improve writing after words are on a page. A book coach supports you before, during, and after the writing, helping you improve and keeping you accountable to the goals you’ve identified. Copyeditors are different than editors because they’re looking at the details of your work through a magnifying glass, pointing out typos and errors that might hold your finished work back. Ghostwriters shape your ideas or your life story into a book by adding their words. A book coach helps you find your own words to fit your ideas and story.

Why would someone need your services?

Olympic marathon runners need coaches just as much as middle school track and field athletes on their first day. Without someone to help writers define what they’re working towards, and supporting them along the way, it can be hard to get that book across the finish line. Mangled metaphors aside, book coaches are a great way for any writer who wants to improve their process or their craft and needs unbiased feedback from an experienced guide.

Can you guarantee I'll get an agent or be a bestseller?

Back to the Olympics, we go! Olympic coaches can’t guarantee their athletes a gold, silver, or bronze medal, or even that they’ll make it to the opening day ceremonies. That’s not their job. Their job is to help the athlete create an opportunity for greatness. In the same way, book coaches cannot and should not ever make a guarantee about getting an agent or being on a bestseller list. There are just too many variables that are out of the hands of writers, much less their coaches. Making promises like that would be unethical and set you up for frustration.

What does your process look like?

First, we recommend a consultation call. This free 30-minute call is a great way for you to ask more specific questions, talk about what you’re hoping to achieve, and make sure the fit is a good one. Please be aware that it is just a consultation. No actual coaching will begin at that time. Once you're ready to begin, we’ll have a kickoff call that will go over the specifics of your schedule and deadlines, plan how you’ll accomplish your goals, what kinds of resources you might need, and create your success plan. After that, you will submit pages for review before each session, and in your session, you will go over the coach’s feedback and discuss upcoming goals or plans.

Why don't you do contracts for a specific amount of time?

Everyone's writing journey is different. Some people only need help with revision when it comes to their book plans, and some people need an accountability partner who will be with them every step of the way. Some people write quickly and a twelve-week contract wouldn't benefit them, while others have jobs that prevent them from regular writing times. This service should work for you, whether it's a short period or a longer one. We don't want clients worrying about how much time is left on their contract if it means they aren't getting quality writing done. That way, if you need more time, you have it. If you need a little, or we aren't a great fit, we can part ways easily.

What kind of genres and authors do you work with?

We work with a few different genres: romance and romance sub-genres, historical fiction and non-fiction, memoir, crime and mystery, young adult (any genre), and self-help.

At this time, we do not coach writers who write specifically in the following genres: science-fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller/suspense, children’s/young readers, picture books, poetry, cookbooks, or religion. We are not experienced enough in these genres to benefit authors writing in them. If you have questions about whether your genre fits, please schedule a consultation and we can talk further. 

WordSwell Writing does not coach brand-new fiction authors at this time. If you are new to writing stories, that’s great! We are so glad you are creating and imagining stories you want to share. But, we are not able to offer coaching services to you at this time. Check out our Resources page to find some coaches who do! If you are a published author, or unpublished but with some experience, then we’d love to talk more.

What kinds of experience do your book coaches have?

Our book coaches are writers and educators. We have coaches who have been writers in the publishing and writing community for the past ten years, and experienced the highs and lows you might be facing, like querying agents, getting stuck in endless revision cycles, and even self-publishing. We have coaches who have worked as copyeditors, freelance editors, and English professors as well as high school English teachers. Above all, we have spent years studying stories and the publishing industry and pride ourselves on our ability to give other writers the support and feedback needed to help the story get finished and the writers grow more confident.

What are office hours?

Just like professors, I hold recurring office hours throughout the week that are open to any of my clients on a first-come-first-served basis. They are 15-minute spots to talk between our regularly scheduled sessions and can be a phone call or a video chat. See your Getting Started email for the calendar link. If you can't make it one day or have to cancel at the last minute, that's fine!

What else should I know?

Our personal and professional life rules are: Be kind and be curious. We live by them when it comes to giving feedback and listening to our clients. We also expect kindness and curiosity from our clients in return. This extends from how we speak to each other during sessions and in communications as well as our non-discrimination stance. We do not work with clients who have demonstrated an inability to be kind, or open-minded in their response to our feedback. 

What if I'm not satisfied with my book coach/feedback/services?

We work hard to make sure that you are matched with a book coach that will be a good fit for you. This is why we start with a consultation call, so that both writer and coach can determine if it's a match. However, there are times when first impressions are not the lasting impression, or something else has occurred that is interfering with the relationship between writer and coach.

If there is a mismatch between writer and coach, or the feedback or services you are getting are not meeting your expectations and needs, the first step is to talk to the coach about the problem to address any possible miscommunications or misunderstandings. If this first step doesn't resolve the issue, we will take further steps to find a solution that works for everyone. If no solution can be reached we will discuss the cancellation or refund options available as laid out in the contract and terms of service. 

What are your cancellation policies?

We know that life can sometimes get in the way of the best laid plans. When things come up that mean you can't submit your pages for review, or need to reschedule your sessions we try to be as flexible as possible! We do ask for a heads up if it's within 24 hours of a submission or session. During your kickoff call we will go over the procedures for communicating with us and rescheduling sessions.

If you have signed a contract with us and need to back out before we begin working together, that is understandable! We can discuss delaying or cancelling our sessions. If sessions have already begun but you need to delay or cancel any additional sessions we can discuss that as well. Any payment for services not yet rendered will be refunded. Services already rendered cannot be refunded. If the services rendered are not satisfactory, please communicate with your book coach first and then we can take any additional steps necessary. See our terms for service page or your contract for more details.